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Government launches name and shame campaign [update]

Hoping to combat rampant tax evasion, the Greek government on Sunday published a list with the names of 4,152 major dodgers.

The evaders, who had for months been warned to pay up their debts or risk being named and shamed, owe the state a total of 14.877 billion euros.

The largest single debt included in the list released Sunday by the finance ministry is 952 million euros. The list does not include debtors who have already made arrangements for settlement of their debts.

Kept afloat only by bailout loans, Greece is desperate to convince its international lenders that it is capable of filling depleted state coffers with tax income as part of reforms to get its finances back on track.

A 65-year-old clothing retailer was detained in the western port of Patra during the weekend on charges of withholding more than 600,000 euros in taxes from the state.